Geneva - On a Budget in 36 hours

Geneva – 36 hours and a budget

Before even arriving in Geneva all I had been told was prepare for how expensive it is. So with this in mind and my budget I did not know what to expect. Well the people were kind of right, but it is totally doable in a penny size budget.

On arrival into Geneva head towards the baggage claim area and you will see a silver machine near the exit with a sign that says free travel card. I pressed the button and there I was awarded a ticket for my onward journey into the city. I went for a city break, but Geneva is at the heart of many ski resorts so upon exit I found hundreds of people trying to locate their hotels signs to take their journey to their resorts. I was excited for a city break and that’s just what I got. I proceeded on to the train station which is located just on the end of the airport. From there I got the first train posted for city center which was about a 4 min wait. There is information staff in yellow shirts to assist you to the right track so do not worry. The journey into the central train station was about 15 minutes.

On arrival to Hotel Central I was given a travel card and explained what I could use it for. This in itself was already saving me about $5 a day and given to you at each hotel you stay in. The hotels photos on the website are outdated and they were recently refurbished. Breakfast was served in the room and you set this up on check in. I set off for the United Nations building and palace which was about a 1.5 mile walk from the hotel. You can catch the Bus 5 to Nations from just near the hotel. Your key card has this information and more about taking the Bus 10 back to the airport from the hotel. I decided to walk as I wanted to soak up the sun along the lake area and took advantage of the yellow boat trip across the lake to see the famous fountain. The United Nations tours run on the weekdays only in winter and from April to September offer weekend tours as well. Arrive early as this was popular from the time slots they had available.

I headed back to the hotel on the Bus 5 which brought me back to the edge of the river and lake. It was about a 5 minute walk back to the hotel from here. There is a market on Saturday right outside the hotel area in the square. I highly recommend getting one of the fresh rotisserie chicken and potatoes served there. There was a line each time I approached so come patient and hungry. I headed over to Jardin Anglais to watch the sail boats take off, see the famous flower clock and make my way to get a better look at the fountain (Jet d’Eau). With Geneva bordering France and Italy you get the feeling of family and the café culture that Europe really has to offer. I grabbed a cup of Joe and headed to the grass to soak up the sun with the locals. You can set up tours of the cities many chocolate and watch factories prior to arrival. I would highly recommend this as coming around Easter I was overwhelmed with the amount of chocolate around each corner. I did a lot of window shopping as some of the most exquisite watch designs exist in Geneva.

The next day I headed out around 9am to catch the Palm Sunday Mass at St. Pierre cathedral just up the road. The Cathedral is very simple on the inside, but what lies below was 2,000 years of history. Around the back of the church you can make your way into the archaeological site. The cost was under $10 and took about an hour if you follow all the signs and watch all the videos about the excavation. This is the largest of its size in Europe so it’s well worth a stopover for some of the Christian history in Geneva. During the tour of the site they provided some more places to see in Geneva that were part of the first settlements along the river. I headed to find the bus 10 and set off for the airport. Besides the splurge on a new swatch I spent less than $30 across the two days. So Geneva on a budget was a success.

Good Tips:

Bring a water bottle as there are water stations all over the city

Getting food to go and sitting at the parks will save you a hefty surcharge in most places

 

Happy Traveling,

Katrina